Bulldogs lose to La Grange in season ender
The Bandera varsity football season came to an end Friday night as No. 8 ranked Sinton rolled past the Bulldogs and into the second round to face La Grange.
While Bandera fell short of accomplishing its goal of winning a playoff game, the Bulldogs wrapped up one of the program’s best seasons in more than a decade. For just the second time since 2009, the Bulldogs finished with a winning record and advanced to the postseason. The only other winning season and playoff appearance came in 2019, when the current senior class was competing as sophomores.
Bandera finished 6-5 this year and 2-3 in District 15-4A Division II. The Bulldogs showed immense improvement throughout the entire program after going winless last season – the offense scored more than three times as many points, racked up double the yardage and had both a 1,000-yard rusher and passer.
The defense had two shutouts and gave up 163 points in the regular season, down from 405 in 2020. The Bulldogs allowed just 16.3 points per game through the first 10 games, the program’s best 10-game average since 2009 (16.5 ppg).
“Obviously, there are things we would’ve liked to happen like winning a playoff game or a district championship,” Bandera athletic director and head football coach Joel Fontenot-Amedee said. “However, we’re really proud of this group of seniors and the sacrifices they’ve made to build a strong foundation for the future of the Bandera football program and Bandera athletics. Their accomplishment of making the playoffs twice in their high school career hasn’t been done since 2009, and that is a big deal.
“I’m very proud of our players and coaching staff. They say it takes a village to raise kids, and it does. It also takes a village to have a good football program, and it’s taken everyone on our staff and in our community to come together this year to be successful. That’s what We Are One is all about – our community coming together for our kids.”
“We’ve got a small but good group of rising seniors coming back who will be ready to take the program to the next level,” Amedee said. “To our underclassmen, the road to a championship is paved with iron. We will see you in the weight room!